Once upon a time, in a far-away land (where things made more sense than in Newhaven, Connecticut), there was born an idea, whose name was RUSSIAN FORMALISM. Russian Formalism was a curious child, and quite clever. She dearly loved to read, but often asked herself: “What is this material that I so love to absorb, this delectable form that I devour as I peruse my library?” Her fathers, Boris Eichenbaum and Roman Jakobson, did tell her: “This is what most people call Literature, my dear. It is a sort of science.”
“But what is it made of?” Asked Russian Formalism. “What is the formula and how many are the elements of such a science? Indeed, what is literariness?”
Thus began the young idea’s journey to explore the science of literature --- Not how to study it, but what it actually is. In her wild search, she set out looking for theories, rather than concrete definitions: Theories can evolve, adapt, and change to fit her material! A rather more exciting creature to hunt than a simple, idle definition, to be sure. (After all, “Science lives not by seeing truth, but by overcoming error.”)
As Russian Formalism broadened her field of research, she began to spread beyond all previous methodological limits to develop a very special science of literature, which in itself was a specific ordering of facts. Facts, of course, were her very favorite things, and she collected a great many over the course of her adventures.
That is not to say that her quest was an easy one! On the contrary, it seemed that every new step of her expedition brought great peril, and in fact she began having a peculiar sort of identity crisis. In the beginning, she walked straight into the wild forest of Aesthetics, where she was lost for quite some time, and although she grew to like the place, she knew she had to move on to more navigable paths. She then met a great bard by the name of Potebnya the Symbolist, who tried to charm her with his poetry and song. He did have a most beautiful voice, but in the end, they parted ways: For our heroine could only focus on Form, while Potebnya was obsessed with symbols! In the end he had slandered her, and she narrowly escaped her doom when she realized that she missed the sweet songs of the bard, and came upon a new theory: “Why, what about sound? Sound is subservient to nothing!” What an invaluable fact to add to her collection. She began to think of rhythm and meter as linguistic components, rather than just frivolous distraction.
As Russian Formalism evolved, she learned many new things. She traveled to the seas Plot and Story, navigating the boundary between the two where the waters churned beneath her vessel. But she waited out the storm and was able to see clearly to the sea-bed beneath, wherein did lie the secret that Plot was really just the structure of Story! She witnessed the waters of the Story flowing through the currents of the Plot as the seas calmed under her steady, scientific gaze. This taught her that the most important part of her science would be to focus on a single device, which she could apply to innumerable examples of literature!
Thoroughly satisfied with the fact that there was no concrete answer to her question, Russian Formalism returned home to her fathers. Her homecoming was a joyous occasion, and they lived together in peace, happiness, and order until their unfortunate demise. The great Villain, Trotsky, who had plagued them for years, released his evil decree of “Literature and Revolution,” which left the poor family nameless and destitute. Our poor heroine, Russian Formalism, was tragically and fatally wounded in the attack. As she lay on her deathbed, her fathers weeping above her, she assured them of this: Though she may die, her journey would never end.
Thus concludes the tale of Russian Formalism.
“But what is it made of?” Asked Russian Formalism. “What is the formula and how many are the elements of such a science? Indeed, what is literariness?”
Thus began the young idea’s journey to explore the science of literature --- Not how to study it, but what it actually is. In her wild search, she set out looking for theories, rather than concrete definitions: Theories can evolve, adapt, and change to fit her material! A rather more exciting creature to hunt than a simple, idle definition, to be sure. (After all, “Science lives not by seeing truth, but by overcoming error.”)
As Russian Formalism broadened her field of research, she began to spread beyond all previous methodological limits to develop a very special science of literature, which in itself was a specific ordering of facts. Facts, of course, were her very favorite things, and she collected a great many over the course of her adventures.
That is not to say that her quest was an easy one! On the contrary, it seemed that every new step of her expedition brought great peril, and in fact she began having a peculiar sort of identity crisis. In the beginning, she walked straight into the wild forest of Aesthetics, where she was lost for quite some time, and although she grew to like the place, she knew she had to move on to more navigable paths. She then met a great bard by the name of Potebnya the Symbolist, who tried to charm her with his poetry and song. He did have a most beautiful voice, but in the end, they parted ways: For our heroine could only focus on Form, while Potebnya was obsessed with symbols! In the end he had slandered her, and she narrowly escaped her doom when she realized that she missed the sweet songs of the bard, and came upon a new theory: “Why, what about sound? Sound is subservient to nothing!” What an invaluable fact to add to her collection. She began to think of rhythm and meter as linguistic components, rather than just frivolous distraction.
As Russian Formalism evolved, she learned many new things. She traveled to the seas Plot and Story, navigating the boundary between the two where the waters churned beneath her vessel. But she waited out the storm and was able to see clearly to the sea-bed beneath, wherein did lie the secret that Plot was really just the structure of Story! She witnessed the waters of the Story flowing through the currents of the Plot as the seas calmed under her steady, scientific gaze. This taught her that the most important part of her science would be to focus on a single device, which she could apply to innumerable examples of literature!
Thoroughly satisfied with the fact that there was no concrete answer to her question, Russian Formalism returned home to her fathers. Her homecoming was a joyous occasion, and they lived together in peace, happiness, and order until their unfortunate demise. The great Villain, Trotsky, who had plagued them for years, released his evil decree of “Literature and Revolution,” which left the poor family nameless and destitute. Our poor heroine, Russian Formalism, was tragically and fatally wounded in the attack. As she lay on her deathbed, her fathers weeping above her, she assured them of this: Though she may die, her journey would never end.
Thus concludes the tale of Russian Formalism.
No comments:
Post a Comment